A. Cacutuaoides Won't Stop Eating Her Eggs

[jjkolodz]

How can I stop her from eating her eggs. She has had about 5 clutches but eats the eggs within a day or two

 

[-=Marc=-]

Hi,

two or three times ok, but five times seems to be a little bit to often. If this egg-eating doesn't stop, the most common cause is that something is wrong in the tank. There are a lot of possibilities like to much pressure from other fishes (wrong dither fishes or the male), eggs are not fertilized and/or get white, wrong water parameters, not enough food (normally, even if the Apistogrammas are extremely hungry, they don't eat their own eggs). We have a better chance to possibly find out what causes this behaviour in this case.

Kind regards
Marc

 

[jjkolodz]

My water conditions are as follows:

TDS: 231 ppm
pH: 7.99
KH: 6 DH
GH: 8 DH

Does this look abnormal?

 

[england]

what other fish do you have in there?
do you interfer alot poking your face into the tank to see whats happening<its normal>this can make them think sod you and it the cluthch

 

[jjkolodz]

The pair has a ten gallon all to themselves. They are on the top shelve of my fish rack and don't get disturbed too often

 

[Tolak]

Light the tank with room light only, try putting a background on 3 sides of the tank.

 

[-=Marc=-]

Hi,

TDS: 231 ppm
pH: 7.99
KH: 6 DH
GH: 8 DH

Does this look abnormal?

no, this should fit the requirements for the cacatuoides. Try the other tipps, be patient. If nothing works i try other things. My A. eremnopyge started to spawn successful after i raise the temperature to 28° Celsius for two weeks. After this initial "firing", they've spawned regulary also at 24°- 25 °C. My wildcaught cacatuoides, first kept alone in a 14 gal. tank, start spawning after i put some Nannostomus marginatus (if i remember correctly four Nannostomus) into the tank... first spawning after some days brought me 80 little A. cacatuoides. Another way i try sometimes with success (not only with Apistogramma, also with tetras) is to seperate the pairs (the genders in case of group-breeding tetras) for five days. Just divide the tank with a piece of foam, glas, polyacrylics, so every cacatuoides sit in his half. Remove it after 4 to 5 days and look what happens.

Hope that help
Marc